My Star Chaser
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: I wrapped both arms tightly around her, willing her to feel better. It didn’t work, obviously, and instead, she curled herself into a ball inside my embrace. Hope you like this! It's just a little Oliver/Katie story I felt like writing. Read and Review
1. Why Oliver was upset

**Okay, you know how I'm always writing Fratie one-shots and stories? Well, I'm still all for Fratie, but I really wanted to write this, so go along with it, okay? Good.**

*********

I was practically bouncing in my seat at the prospect of picking the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year. Of course it made it difficult that our star seeker had graduated, but I could work around that. I needed a new Chaser too.

"Alright, lets begin," I announced loudly. Everyone turned to look at me. "Let's start will a few simple drills. Those of you trying out for Chaser will attempt to score, and I will, of course, be in position as the Keeper. Any questions?"

Apparently none of them were stupid. That's always a plus. "Alright, who's up first?"

A fourth year I didn't recognize raised her hand. Already I could tell I didn't like her. She held herself up as if she were better than everyone else, and exuded an air of overconfidence in herself.

"Name?" I asked.

"Maria Hollander," she replied, smiling confidently as she mounted her broom. I followed her into the air and got into position.

The first shot missed all three goals by a bunch. The second I caught easily, and the third barely made it five feet. Her face was nearing an unhealthy shade of maroon by the time she hit the ground, the other candidates laughing at her.

All except for one.

That was the first time I saw Katie Bell. I could tell right away that she was pretty, with very blonde hair and shocking blue eyes, but she was so tiny, I almost laughed at the idea of her being on the team. She couldn't be more than a second year.

"Don't laugh at her!" the tiny girl said angrily. "She did her best! And I didn't see any of you gits volunteering to be first!"

Maria barely glanced her way as she made her way off the Quidditch pitch.

"You tell 'em Katie-Kat!" Fred and George yelled to the little girl. Her face turned red. "Stop calling me that you guys!" she cried indignantly.

"And you are?" I asked her.

"Katie Bell," she replied, grinning. Her two front teeth were missing. It made her look cute. But more in a little sister kind of way, as opposed to a girlfriend kind of way.

"Well, Miss Bell, why don't you go next?"

She looked a little nervous, but nodded, while Fred and George whistled at her as she mounted her broom.

Once in the air, I watched as her expression turned to one of pure determination. She started slowly, and I almost laughed. But she caught me off guard, suddenly zooming forward and shooting the Quaffle right through the goal. I stared at her in disbelief. She just grinned.

"Okay the," I say lamely, retrieving the Quaffle and tossing it back to her. She catches it easily, and I swear I saw two of the other candidates throw down their borrowed brooms and leave the field.

Fred and George are yelling random things, although the longer I listen the more I realize it has very little to do with Quidditch. Katie is very strategically ignoring them, however, and makes every other shot she throws, even with me doing my best to block them.

When we land, every other candidate looks disheartened, and it's easy to tell why. At this rate, Katie's almost definitely going to get that Chaser position.

Next we run drills for avoiding Bludgers. I couldn't be sure if Katie was any good at that, because Fred and George very nearly refused to aim them at her at all. At the speed she was going, however, I had no doubts.

"I'll let you know!" I called to the mopey (all but one) Chaser candidates.

"Oliver?" a soft voice asked, and I looked down (no kidding, she was_ that _short) to see Katie Bell, looking at her feet. Who knew that someone this great at Quidditch and friends with the Weasely twins be _shy_?

"Yeah?" I asked her, resisting the urge to talk to her like she was six. Not condescendingly, but because it was honestly hard not to already think of this girl like a little sister.

"Can I stay and watch the Seeker tryouts with Fred and George?" she asked, still not looking up at me.

"Sure," I said, shrugging. She mumbled a thanks and walked back over to the stands, where Alicia and Angelina yelled at the twins for saying things like, "Ickle Katiekins here has a crush on our Oliver!"

"Alright," I said. "The first drill we're running will be for speed," I told the (small) crowd of Seeker candidates. "You'll simply fly, as fast as you can, from one end of the field to the other."

They mounted their brooms. Two of the six fell off halfway across, and one of them seemed terrified to go faster than five miles per hour. I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Okay," I told them, trying not to sound too disappointed. "The next drill, I'll release the snitch. Obviously, you'll try and catch it."

"All of us at the same time?" the slow boy asked nervously. It was rather funny really, as I recognized him as a seventh year, and he was quite big.

I nodded, and they all mounted their brooms. I released the snitch, and the same two people who'd fallen before now crashed into each other quite ungracefully. The slow boy attempted to stay above everyone else, although how he planned on catching the Snitch I hadn't the faintest idea.

The other three were all on the ground in a jumbled heap before the Snitch had even flown pass them. I though I was going to cry.

"Everyone out of the air!" I cried. They all landed, somewhat messily. "I'll, er, let you know," I added, walking off in a huff.

Of course, you can't walk off in a huff around the twins.

"Aw, is poor Ollie going to cry?" Fred asked, pretending to sob.

"Ollie, don't cry," George said, feigning shock. "Be manly!"

"Manly?" Fred asked. "What's that?"

Alicia and Angelina laughed, and Katie stifled a giggle. A small part of me wondered if she really did fancy me. It was a little funny. Having a second year fancy me. I mean, not to brag or anything, but I was sort of used to it.

Still, it felt weird. I decided it must just be because of the sisterly way Katie seemed. The adorable, shy, good-at-sports quality she had.

Yeah, that had to be it.


	2. Why Katie Bell was a good actress

I know I should have been sleeping. I mean, it was bloody one in the morning. But I figured, hey, as long as I can't sleep, why not work on some Quidditch strategies?

So that's how I found myself in the Gryffindor common room at one in the morning, flipping through our playbook, and occasionally writing in it.

I heard a sniffle from just up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, and I turned quickly to see who it was.

"Oh, Oliver," Katie said, somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect to see anyone down here."

She quickly wiped away her tears and put on a smile, but I could see through it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, genuinely concerned. She just shook her head. "Come on, you can tell me," I said, patting the spot next to me on the couch.

She walked over, and laughed weakly when she saw what I was doing. "Honestly Oliver," she said. "You're going to work yourself to death."

"Hey, no changing the subject," I said, faking anger.

She laughed, sitting next to me. I put an arm around her. "Now, tell Oliver what's bothering you," I told her.

She laid her head on my shoulder. It felt so funny. I was nearly six feet tall, and she seemed almost like a midget, squirming until she could reach my shoulder with hear head. "My parents are getting divorced," she said, and I could tell she was holding back more tears.

I wished I could have thought of something better to say, but, being a pureblood, I couldn't think of anything I could say before I asked, "What's divorced."

"It must just be a muggle thing," she said thoughtfully. "It's when two people-two married people-they…just get, well, un-married."

"Oh," I said. "That's…strange. Why?"

"Loads of reasons," she said, sniffling. "But usually it's because they fall out of love. They usually start fighting a lot, ant then one of them moves out, then they get divorced."

"I'm sorry," I told her, as I still couldn't really think of anything else to say.

"I only see them in the summer!" she sobbed. "Now I'll see both of them even less because I'll have to divide my time between them!"

I wrapped both arms tightly around her, willing her to feel better. It didn't work, obviously, and instead, she curled herself into a ball inside my embrace.

It was rather embarrassing to explain when we wake up like that, not realizing we'd fallen asleep. Katie's face turned a deep shade of maroon, and I had to step up and calmly explain that she'd been upset, and I'd simply been comforting her.

*********

Katie Bell was a good actress.

Throughout the day she joked, laughed, and went to Quidditch practice as if everything were normal. You would have had to be paying very close attention (which I was) to notice the carefully concealed tears behind every smile.

It had been a few weeks since tryouts, and we'd been practicing for a while now. It amazed me how quickly Katie seemed to get over her shyness. She was of course already friends with the twins, and warmed up to Angelina almost instantly. Alicia she seemed almost scared of, but became friends with her quickly as well.

Everyone was pressuring me to chose one of the horrible candidates as our seeker, as whoever I chose was going to seriously need to practice, but I kept putting it off. Why, oh why, did Charlie have to graduate!?

So I was sitting in Charms, not really paying attention, but rather going through the pros and cons (or rather, cons) of the different Seekers, when McGonagall opens the door, and asks if I can come out in the hall.

"Yes Professor?" I ask, not really paying attention to the little first year she had with her.

"Wood," she said. "I have found you a Seeker!" She looked almost…giddy. I knew McGonagall really did have house pride!

"Really!?" I asked, thrilled. She nodded, gesturing to the little first year. My face fell. Then I noticed who he was. McGonagall thought Harry Potter should be our Seeker.

"I've seen him fly," McGonagall said. "The boy's a natural."

I grinned stupidly, shaking Harry's hand.

We were so going to win the Quidditch Cup this year.


	3. Why Old habits die hard

We didn't. it was…upsetting, to say the least.

"Well team," I began, to start my usual post-game speech. "Aw screw it!" I said, throwing my arms around them in a big hug. "We'll win it next year, right?" I asked, still upset.

"Of course!" everyone cried, almost instantaneously, hugging me back.

"Well, then, I guess we don't really need a speech."

Everyone stared at me in shock. Angelina's hand flew to my forehead. "Not warm," she muttered.

"Who are you?" Katy asked slowly. "And what have you done with Oliver?"

I laughed, but was still too upset to say anything else, so I simply opened my locker and pulled out my change of clothes.

I heard everyone heading to the showers, and I pulled my shirt off to change. I was too depressed to shower.

There was a small giggle, and I turned to see Katie standing behind me.

She blushed profusely. "Sorry, old habits die hard," she muttered.

"Old habits?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

"Well, my best friend has six older brothers, and whenever they had friends over, if they took off their shirt for whatever reason, she would giggle like an idiot. Being a naïve little ten year old, I could for the life of me figure out why. So I simply copied her."

I laughed, and her blush deepened. I pulled on my clean shirt and held my clean pants in my hand, looking at them and hoping she'd get the message.

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed, figuring it out. "Yeah, that would be weird, huh? Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go shower." After that she scurried off, her face beet red.

*********

_Dear Ollie,_

_Haha, I called you Olli, and you can't yell at me! Anyway, I don't know if you really care about getting a letter from a lowly second (soon to be third!) year, but I am absolutely dying of boredom, and to be honest, well, the team is really the only friends I have, so I'm writing to everyone._

_Yeah, I know, it sounds kind of pathetic. But I'm not good at making friends! The only reason I'm friends with Alicia and Angelina are because on the train Fred and George tried to kick me out of the compartment I'd snagged, became my first friends and Hogwarts, and made me try out for Quidditch._

_Do you consider me a friend, Oliver? Stupid question, I mean, you're my captain. Anyway, you don't have to reply to this letter, but writing it gives me something to do._

_Yours Truly,_

_Katy_

He read the letter twice to be sure he'd understood it properly. She didn't think he considered her a friend!? How could she think that?

He picked up a quill and parchment immediately, completely forgetting whatever it was he'd been doing when he got the owl in the first place.

_Dear Katie-Kat,_

_See, two cane play at the nickname game._

_Of course I'm your friend! Silly girl! How could you not be my friend? You're like my little sister. Little Katie-Kat._

_Anyway, why is your summer so boring? Don't you have a best friend there? Margie I think it was? Don't be bored! I've been keeping busy by (oh you'll never guess it) coming up with Quidditch plays for next year. I know, I know, I can hear you now, "Oliver, no Quidditch over the summer unless it's for fun!"_

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

**(AN: Wow, I'm sorry. I have a habit of accidentally switching from 1st**** Person POV to 3****rd**** Person POV, so I'll switch back now.)**

_Dear Oliver,_

_I'll call you Oliver if you don't call me Katie-Kat, deal? Please!?_

_Anyway, my best friend (Maggie, by the way) is a muggle, so she doesn't know about school. I keep having to make up ridiculous stories about how it's like a normal muggle boarding school. I've told her you're my soccer captain!_

_Anyway, Maggie landed herself in summer school, so she's almost always at school during the day. That leaves me with no one. A few time one of her brothers took pity on me and let me come swimming over at their house. But it didn't escape my notice that they look my way a lot when I'm wearing a swimsuit. And I thought they thought of me like a sister! Gits._

_And yes, I have to say it, Ahem: No Quidditch during the summer Oliver, unless it's for fun! I can't play Quidditch over the summer, so you can't either!_

_Damn…you can…But only for fun, capeesh?_

_Yours Truly,_

_Katie_

I laughed as I read her letter, wondering mildly what summer school was. It wasn't hard to figure out though. I felt myself get really angry when she got to the part about the guys watching her in her bathing suit.

Then I laughed. Like I said before, Katie's like a little sister to the whole team, and Fred and George have often made Katie's face go red with jokes about how she wears a bra, with nothing to put in one.

Once she got so angry, she retaliated with, "You wear pants, don't you?" and stormed off in a huff.

Anyway, the point being, it's not exactly like Katie in a bathing suit is really that much to look at.

No, that cam out wrong. It's not like I approve of ogling any girls in a bathing suit, all I'm saying is that if I did, Katie wouldn't really be the person I'd ogle.

_Dear Katie,_

_I nearly ripped something in half when I read that those buggars were ogling you in your bathing suit. I can be very protective you know._

_Anyway, I'm sorry you're bored. I forgot that you can't play Quidditch over the summer. Muggles and all that. And, to appease you (like that'll ever happen), I promise not to come up with Quidditch plays over the summer._

_Happy now? Because I'm not._

_Sincerely (Angrily),_

_Oliver_

_Dear Oliver,_

_Please get over yourself. And I am appeased that you won't play Quidditch unless it's for fun, because you have to have enough fun for the both of us, got it? Good._

_Now, on to a more upbeat note: I'm going to spend the remaining week of summer holiday at the Weaseley's house! It'll be so fun!_

_I've been writing the twins, and when they heard I can't play Quidditch, they demanded I come visit them. I can't wait. They were my first friends at Hogwarts. Can you believe they have five sibling? That's a lot of kids! I can't wait to meet them! Well, not Bill and Charlie of course, because they don't live at home anymore, but I'll get to meet Ginny! Ron's at Hogwarts (duh), and Percy too. Yes, unfortunately, I've met Percy. The git._

_Got to go pack now!_

_Katie_

I smiled as I read her letter. I was glad she was doing something. She seemed so unhappy by herself all summer. I didn't exactly trust the twins to be nice to Katie for a whole week, but at least she'd be having fun.

Suddenly, an owl flew in and nearly hit me in the head. It was carrying three letters. The first two were addressed to Alicia and Angelina. The third had my name on it.

_Ollie-Boy,_

_How is our dearest captain on this oh-so-fine summer? We just wished to inform you that our dear Ickle Katiekins was subject to an entirely Quidditch-free summer, which we are hoping to rectify. We are getting the team together at our house in two days, so that she can have a proper game._

_Come on then!_

_Gred and Forge_

I laughed, then scowled, remembering that they'd called me Ollie-Boy. Well, I couldn't scold them if I wasn't there. Guess I had to go then.


	4. Why Molly Weasely was worried

I knocked on the Weasely's door tentatively, afraid of how the twins might greet me. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when the door was thrown open, revealing a grinning Katie.

The first thing I noticed was, of course, that she had opened the Weasely's door. It was, however, a close second, that she had really, er, _filled out_, over the summer.

Although still thoroughly opposed to ogling girls in bathing suits, I could now definitely see how they could want to see in a bathing suit.

Bad thoughts Oliver, I scolded myself. She's like your little sister!

She hugged me, and I heard a wolf whistle from behind her.

"Oi!" Fred called. "Get your hands off my woman!" He snaked his arm around her waist and she rolled her eyes but didn't attempt to remove it. I wondered briefly what that meant.

"Oliver!" Alicia called, running into the room, throwing her arms around me.

"Hi Alicia!? I said happily.

"Hey Wood!" Bill's familiar voice called. Huh, I hadn't expected him to be here.

After saying hello to everyone, we all went outside to play. When we got out there, the teams were like this: Me, Alicia, Fred, Harry, and Katie against George, Bill, Ron, and Angelina.

"That's not fair!" George complained. "You've got more people than us!"

"I'll play!" a loud, very annoyed voice called from the ground. I looked down to see Ginny waving her arms madly, carrying a battered broomstick. Fred, George, and Ron attempted to argue, but to no avail.

Once on a broomstick, Ginny was pretty good at Quidditch. She surprised her brothers, who appeared to know nothing of her hidden talent.

All in all it was a good game. As we had Katie and Harry, however, we whipped them pretty good.

*********

There was much noise as everyone sat down to dinner that night. To this day I think Molly Weasely must have enchanted those food bowls to be bottomless, as she managed to make sure that Me, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Mr. Weasely, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Ron, herself, Harry, and Ginny were all very well fed.

After that, We all fell asleep in the living room, piled on top of one another. In the middle of the night, however, I woke up in need of the loo. I stood up carefully, so as not to wake Ron or Harry, who were right next to me, and crawled over the pile of humans.

Suddenly, without warning, someone grabbed my arm, holding it tightly. I turned to see Katie holding my arm and apparently using it as a pillow, still fast asleep. I attempted to pull away, but damn, that girl has a grip of steel!

I sighed, attempting to get comfortable. That was, however, impossible, as I was now squished between Fred and Katie (for some reason it bothered me that he'd squished himself so close to her), and I still needed to use the restroom.

"Stupid Oliver," Katie muttered, and I poked her in the head to be sure she was still asleep. She was. That was rude!

"Stupid crush on Oliver," she mumbled, squeezing my arm tighter. "Stupid little kid crush."

I smiled and the aggravated look on her face, knowing it was just a childhood crush and she'd grow out of it.

*********

I was supposed to go home the next day, but I found it extremely hard to leave. Finally, the twins convinced me to stay and go with them until we all left for Hogwarts.

Alicia and Angelina left, saying they had things to do before the Summer was over, and Bill said he had to get back to his flat. Other than that, it was still a full house at The Burrow, which Harry and I agreed was the greatest house either of us had ever been in.

It was funny how Ginny looked at Harry. I wondered briefly if Katie looked at me like that when I wasn't looked, but dismissed the thought quickly. I knew she didn't, or Fred and George would make even more crude jokes than they already do.

"Oliver," Katie said one evening when the two of us were taking a walk. "Did you mean what you said. About me being like your little sister, I mean?"

"Of course," I said, feigning ignorance in the hope that it would ease the awkwardness. "Why?"

"Oh, just curious," she said. "And because the whole team's kind of like my family, it would be strange if you didn't feel the same way."

The end of her statement had a strange twist to it I was sure I wasn't supposed to hear, but I did.

Suddenly, she squealed, looking at the sky. I looked up to see a bright shooting star. She squealed again and began running in the same direction as the star. I laughed.

"You know you won't catch it, right?" I call, running after her.

"Maybe I will!" she calls back stubbornly. Damn, that girl can run!

When the star disappears from sight, she collapses on the ground, laughing. I follow suit.

"What're you laughing at?" she asks, grinning.

"Irony," I answer. She gives me a quizzical look, so I explain. "Well, you're my star chaser, because you're the best chaser on the team, and now you're my star chaser, because you chase stars."

She laughs, and whispers so that I'm sure I wasn't supposed to hear, " As long as I'm _your_ star chaser."

We fall asleep like that, laying on the ground under the stars.

"Oi!" a voice calls the next morning, though having just woken up, I can't tell who it is.

"You had mum all kinds of scared this morning when we told her you two weren't in the house, and hadn't been all night," a second voice called. The Weasely twins.

"And here you are sleeping with my girl!" Must be Fred speaking. I open my eyes to see that I guessed right, and Fred is now pulling Katie up by the arms. It kind of annoys me. I guess it's just me being overprotective. I wouldn't exactly want my little sister going out with Fred Weasely.

She rolls her eyes and removes his arm from her waist as she stands up. I push myself off the ground and the four of us make our way back to The Burrow.


	5. Why Katie's face turns red

The first match of the season didn't exactly go well.

Well, okay, it went awful. I mean, we won, but our Seeker was attacked by an enchanted bludger and landed himself in the hospital wing.

Plus, er, afterward I went out of the locker rooms to a particularly unpleasant sight.

"Harry in the hospital already," I mumbled angrily, leaving the locker rooms, and who did I run into? Katie and Roger Davies. Snogging.

I stood there shocked for a moment before coughing slightly, hoping they'd take the hint. The did. They pulled apart and Katie's face went from normal color to deep maroon in less than half a second.

"Er…" was all I could manage to say. Roger was a fourth year, and a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and was known for being something of a player. "Guess I'll go put my broom away then," I finished lamely, as Katie muttered something to Roger and ran off to the castle. When I turned back around, I saw Roger giving me death glares.

I walked to the hospital wing to check on Harry. His friends Ron and Hermione were already there, as was the rest of the Quidditch team, including Katie.

"Why so red, Katie-Kat?" Fred asked suggestively. "Meet Davie behind the broom shed did ya?"

Her face went, if possible, even redder, and was in danger of turning purple. Madame Pomphrey walked by. "Katie, dear, are you feeling alright?" she asked. "You're very red."

Katie nodded slowly, then I watched as a tear slipped out of her eye and she ran out of the hospital wing.

*********

I walked slowly back to the Gryffindor common room. I wondered briefly what had made Katie so upset? Was it Roger? Or Fred? A small annoying voice kept telling me it was because I caught her snogging Roger.

When I got there, everyone was celebrating the victory. All except for the person I was looking for. Had I really upset her?

I saw Leanne, a Gryffindor Katie had befriended in her own year, once she got over her initial shyness.

"Is Katie alright?" I asked her. She looked uncomfortable.

"I'm really not supposed to say anything…" she said, trailing off.

"Come on, I just need to know, did I upset her?"

Leanne nodded.

"How!?" I asked, exasperated.

"Well, she kind of has a…crush on you, and she was snogging Roger Davies in the hope that having a boyfriend would help her get over that, because she's kind of…afraid that it's not just a school girl crush. But she said when you saw them you looked like you wanted to strangle Roger, and that just reminded her that you only like her like she's your little sister."

Leanne looked guilty, as if she'd just spilled a huge secret. Which, I suppose, she had.

"I didn't tell you that, okay?" she asked pleadingly. I nodded vaguely.

Katie was afraid it wasn't just a little school girl crush? What the hell did that mean!? she thought she was falling in love with me? Ridiculous!

Right?

So why was it that I could think about her having a crush on me, and not be weirded out because I thought of her like a sister.

Bed thought, Oliver. Very bad thoughts.

*********

Katie didn't snog anyone else for a while after that incident, for which I was grateful. I mean, it's not like I had feelings for her or anything, but I did feel overprotective of her.

Roger Davies seemed to have gotten over his anger at me, and was now snogging Cho Chang, a third year Ravenclaw. Katie, for the record, didn't seem to care in the slightest.

It had been about two months since the incident, and Katie and I had (very, very slowly) gotten through the awkwardness. Now things were almost completely back to normal.

Of course, things can't stay normal at Hogwarts very long. Soon strange messages were being written on the walls, and people were being petrified. Being a muggle born, I could tell Katie was scared. She had trouble sleeping at night.

And who was there for her, sitting with her in the common room at ungodly hours, comforting her? Well, I would love to say me, but to just say that would be a lie. It was me and the Weasely twins. And occasionally Angelina or Alicia.

On one such night, Katie had drifted off to sleep, and George was in the boy's dormitory. Fred and I sat there, both of us watching Katie. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.

"I like her," Fred announced, out of the blue.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Katie," he clarified. "I kind of want to ask her out. But she fancies you. You don't like her, right?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Katie's like my little sister," I said. He looked relieved.

"So you wouldn't mind it I asked her out?" he asked cautiously.

"Just remember that I'm very protective of Katie. Come to think of it, so is your twin. If you hurt her, we may have to take turns beating the crap out of you."

He grinned. "Not gonna happen mate," he assured me. Then he excused himself to go off to bed.

"Is he gone?" Katie's voice whispered quietly a moment later.

Surprised, all I could manage was, "Y-yeah."

She sat up, looking at me, her eyes revealing nothing. "Well then, I guess I'll be off to bed," she said coldly.

"Katie, wait," I said, grabbing her by the wrist.

She turned to face me. "Would you like something, Oliver?" she asked, her voice still icy.

"I just…" I trailed off. "Why are you mad at me?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not mad at you," she sighed. "I'm just…I'm mad at myself."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

She looked me in the eye.

"I think you know why."


	6. Why Percy Weasely is a git

Katie played harder at every game and practice we had from that night on. But she seemed so…distant. It worried me.

"Hey Katie-Kat," Fred said one morning at breakfast. I usually ate breakfast with the team, except for Harry, when they weren't mad at me for scheduling insane practices. Which wasn't often.

"Hello Fred," she replied, not looking up. He looked like he wanted to strangle her just to see if she'd give a half decent response. "Katie!" he finally said, probably louder than he'd intended. She looked up, her eyebrows raised as if to say, 'this had better be good'.

"DoyouwanttogotoHogsmeadewithmenextweekend?" he asked so quickly that the words were all jumbled together.

Apparently Katie had no problem deciphering it though, because she looked a little upset for a quarter of a second, before grinning and saying, "I'd love to Fred!"

I nearly choked on my toast. Of course I'd known he was going to ask, but she'd known it too! And she hadn't exactly seemed interested.

That was when it occurred to me why she was angry. She had heard. She had heard him say he was going to ask her out, and she had also heard me say _I was okay with it_.

Wow I'm slow.

"Katie, can I talk to you?" I asked after breakfast, before she could run off to class with Leanne.

"Of course," she said with cheerfulness I automatically dismissed as fake.

"Katie, I'm sorry if…what I said…I didn't mean to-"

She cut me off. "Look, it's fine, okay? I get it. I'm like your little sister. I'll just…find someone else. Maybe it can be Fred. And once I do that, I can think of you as strictly an older brother, okay?"

I nodded. "Um, okay then. But can we go back to being friends while you're trying to find your someone, because you really are like my little sister."

She took a deep breath, and summoned up a real smile, albeit a small one. "Of course, Oliver. I wouldn't want it any other-no, that's a lie…um, I would like that Oliver."

She hugged me, then dashed off to class.

So, everything's fixed now, right?

*********

I was at The Three Broomsticks that weekend, having Butterbeers with some sixth year friends.

"Percy Weasely is a git," David suddenly announced.

We all agreed. "Yes, but why now?" I asked, laughing.

"He told me, quote, "your snoring disturbs my sleep, do you think you could do something about that?' The nerve!"

I laughed. "But David," Greg argued. "You snore like a chainsaw! It probably _does_ disturb his sleep!"

"Good!" me and David announced at the same time. **(AN: Change it to David and I? Never!)**

And that's when I saw Katie sitting a couple tables away, snogging Fred Weasely.

"They work fast," I muttered under my breath. Unfortunately, David heard me, and turned around.

"Oi! Look at Bell and Weasely!" They broke apart, Katie turning red and Fred looking smug. Slowly the color disappeared from Katie's cheeks, and she smiled too.

I wanted to be happy that she seemed to be doing a good job of getting over me, but I couldn't. Why the bloody hell not!?

Because seriously, it's not like I could possible fancy a girl three years younger than me who's like my little sister!


	7. Why Fred should go snog someone

Things got better after that.

I mean, I wasn't sure if Katie was getting over me, or if she was just really good at hiding her feelings, but she did appear to be getting on very well with Fred.

But the awkwardness? Gone. Untraceably, without a doubt, sure as can be, gone. I mean, you could tell she didn't feel awkward any more, because when we were in the locker room after practices, she didn't turn beet red if I accidentally saw her in just her bra.

Not that I looked…

Nope.

Ok, ok, fine! I looked once or twice! But I couldn't help it! She was good looking! And come on, it's not like she's really my little sister, and lots of people can tell that their friends are good looking without liking them like that. So really, I wasn't doing anything wrong.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

But then Fred would walk in and wolf whistle, and I'd have to remind myself that not only did I not have feelings for Katie, but she was with Fred.

It bothered me that I would need to remind myself of either of those things.

Quidditch was canceled for the rest of the year. The Chamber of Secrets and all that. For a while there, I was pretty scared. Of course, everything went down smoothly, and once again good ol' Harry came out above you-know-who.

All's well that ends well.

*********

I rounded a corned and stopped when I heard two familiar voices talking.

"I'm sorry Fred," Katie said softly. "I just don't want to be in a serious relationship right now."

"I understand Katie," he replied sadly, though I could tell that he very well did not understand.

"You're one of my best friends," she continued. "And I don't want this to come between that. It won't, right?"

"'Course not," he answered, and I could tell he was being sincere.

I heard footsteps walking this way, so I did the only thing I could think of. I walked a couple steps backward and then made it look like I'd just come over.

"Oh, hi Oliver," Fred said miserably. I looked over and saw Katie walking in the other direction.

"What's wrong Fred?" I asked, though of course I already knew.

"Katie…she broke up with me," he replied.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry," I said, feigning surprise.

"It's okay, I guess. She used the 'I want to be friends' line, but at least I know she meant it."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's always good."

"I didn't think it would hurt this much," he told me, as we walked toward the Gryffindor common room.

"You knew she was gonna dump you?" I asked, and she he winced at my not-so-delicate wording.

"Yeah. I could tell she just wasn't interested. She seemed all happy and stuff the first couple weeks, then it was just…weird. I'm almost glad we're just going to be friends," he admitted. "Except for the fact that I like her so much."

"I don't know what to say besides, 'go snog someone, it'll help you get over it', but that doesn't seem like good advice."

He laughed. "No, not really."


	8. Why Roger Davies's nose is broken

Seventh year.

I was feeling pretty good about Quidditch. So good that I didn't even bother holding tryouts. I liked my team. No way was I getting rid of any of them.

"Alright team, this is our year!" I yelled in the locker room as they changed for the first practice.

They all yelled their enthusiastic agreements at the same time and then laughed.

"This is my last year to win the cup as captain!" I told them desperately. "I need this!"

"We can do it this year Oliver!" Katie insisted. "This really _is_ our year!"

I love my team.

*********

Practice went great. Seriously, Harry caught the snitch at least ten times, and while I caught a fair amount of goals, Angelina, Alicia, and especially Katie really gave me a run for my money.

After practice, we were in the changing room, and everyone hit the showers. All except for me and Katie.

"Are you going to giggle when I take my shirt off?" I asked mockingly.

She laughed. "I made up quite a nice little story, didn't I?" she declared.

"Huh?"

"I made that story up," she told me. "I mean, Maggie really does have a bunch of brothers, and she really does giggle when their friends take their shirts off, but I never did until that one day. I just needed an excuse."

We both laughed.

Yeah, the awkwardness was so gone.

*********

A couple of days later, I was walking down the corridor when I heard, "Cut it out!"

Katie? Who was she talking to?

Silence for a moment then, "Get the hell off me Davies!"

"Aw, come on, Kates, don't be like that."

I rounded a corner to see Katie pressed between a wall and Roger Davies, who was trying to simultaneous shove his tongue down her throat and get his hand up her shirt. Unfortunately, being so small, Katie didn't really stand a chance against him.

"Oi!" I called to him, walking quickly over. "You heard her, she told you to cut it out!"

Roger's eyes narrowed. "You gonna do something about it Wood?" he spat.

"Sure as hell I am!" I yelled, punching him in the face.

"Bloody hell, Wood, I think you broke my nose!" he screamed.

"Then go to the hospital wing and stay away from Katie," I hissed.

He got up, scowled at us one last time, then stalked away.

"Are you alright?" I asked Katie, who was staring up at me in awe.

"I'm fine," she breathed. "You came to my rescue!"

"Of course, you're my-"

"Don't say it," she argued, cutting me off. Then, before I knew what was happening, she was standing on her tip-toes, her lips pressed against mine.

Suddenly, she pulled away, a strange look on her face.

"W-what-" I began, but she wasn't paying attention to me.

"Nothing," she muttered to herself. "Absolutely nothing. Oliver, do you know what this means!?" she asked excitedly.

I shook my head, still incapable of speech.

"It means I can think of you like a big brother! Because that's what you are! Just now, I kissed you, and honestly, it was like kissing my brother! You know, if I had a brother," she babbled.

I wanted to say, "Are you sure?" I wanted to ask her if she was positive, then kiss her again to be sure.

But I didn't.

Because I couldn't possibly-

Aw bloody hell, I can't even deny it now.

It took her not liking me to make me realize it. I fancied Katie Bell.

So what did my stupid self do?

I asked, mockingly, "So how are my kissing skills?"


	9. Why Katie likes Quidditch captains

"Hello dear captain," Fred said as he and George sat on either side of me on a couch in the Gryffindor common room.

"Hi guys," I said offhandedly. They shared a look.

"So, who's got you all down in the dumps?" one of them asked. I was past caring which one of them it was.

"Huh?" was my brilliant reply.

"Obviously some girl's got you down. Tell us who, we can help!"

I shook my head. "There's no one," I said.

"Sure there's not."

"There isn't!"

"Who is it Oliver!?" they cried together.

"I'm not telling."

"It's Katie, isn't it!?" one of them asked.

"No!" I defended a bit too quickly.

"It is!" they yelled simultaneously.

I hung my head.

"She likes you," one of them said softly. They said it sadly, and I knew it must have been Fred.

"Liked," I corrected. "Not any more."

"What!? What happened?"

"She kissed me."

They sniggered. "You that bad, Wood?"

"Shut up!" I groaned.

"We can help you win back Katie," Fred told me.

"No you can't!"

"No we can't," George agreed.

"What!?" asked Fred, astounded.

"Cedric asked her out this morning," he replied, shaking his head sadly.

"Diggory!?" I asked angrily. George nodded. "What did she say."

George bit his lip. That was all the answer I needed.

*********

"Hey Katie," I said the next day at breakfast.

"Hey Ollie," she replied.

"So, Diggory?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

"Yes," she replied. "Problem?"

"So, got a thing for Quidditch captains?" I joked, causing her face to turn bright red. Now that Roger Davies was a Quidditch captain, and she was dating Cedric, who was one also, and she had like me, all that's left was…

"Going after Flint next, eh Katie?" Fred jeered.

"Yeah, because I like people who are commonly confused with apes," she scoffed. "Puh-_lease_."

We all laughed, and I was happy to see that Katie didn't suspect a thing.

Now, Operation Win Back Miss Bell.

*********

_I_ didn't follow Katie and Cedric to Hogsmeade.

I _didn't _follow Katie and Cedric_ to_ Hogsmeade.

I didn't _follow _Katie and Cedric to Hogsmeade.

I didn't follow _Katie_ and Cedric to Hogsmeade.

I didn't follow Katie and _Cedric_ to Hogsmeade.

I didn't follow Katie and Cedric _to_ Hogsmeade.

I didn't follow Katie and Cedric to _Hogsmeade_.

_I didn't follow Katie and Cedric to Hogsmeade._

Do you believe me yet? No? That's okay, I believe me either. Because one way or another, I ended up outside Madam Puddifoots at the same time they were in there.

What was with that anyway? That place just wasn't the kind of place Katie would go to willingly! She would much rather go to The Three Broomsticks, or The Shrieking Shack, even! But not Madame Puddifoots!

Ugh! It was killing me! I could I be falling for her anyway!?

A little while later (yes, I stood there the while time they were in there, that's how pathetic I am), Katie and Cedric walked out holding hands.

"Listen, Cedric," Katie said. "That was fun, but…" she trailed off, and he picked up.

"But you don't think this is going to work?" he suggested. She nodded sheepishly, and he sighed in relief. "That's good." She looked offended. "Oh, no!" he said, quickly, realizing his mistake. "You're a great person, and very beautiful, it's just that we don't have much in common."

She nodded, understanding. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page. Now, go talk to Cho."

"Huh?"

"Cho," Katie said slowly. "You were talking about her a lot."

"I was?" he asked, sounding like he genuinely hadn't realized.

She nodded. "Yeah. You guys would make a great couple! She definitely likes you. Go talk to her."

Cedric nodded vaguely. "Thanks Katie," he said, kissing her on the cheek. Then he rushed away to find Cho.

"Damn," Katie muttered. "He was good looking, too."

I laughed as my star chaser walked away from her date, completely alone, as they guy she'd been with went off to another girl. That was Katie. Watching out for others.


	10. Why Katie can't wait to see Oliver

We were best friends.

As sickening and ironic and horrible as it was, the day she started thinking of me as a brother was the day I fell in love with her.

But I could ruin our friendship.

So I stood by. I stood by while she went out with a couple guys in her year. I held my tongue when she went out with guys above her year. I comforted her when the losers hurt her. I helped her with homework, I sat with her when she needed a friend, and I held her when her favorite aunt died.

I was probably the greatest best friend ever for the rest of that year.

And it was horrible. It was horrible, and terrible, and awful, and I wanted to kiss her like I had that one day, and I wanted to tell her I loved her, and more than anything else, I wanted her to say it back.

But I didn't do any of those things, and she didn't do the last one.

We won the house cup, and I very nearly pronounced my love for her that day. But I didn't. because after the game, she had a very thorough snogfest with some guy, what's-his-name from some-house-or-another.

Yeah. Aren't I a lucky guy. Not.

*********

And then I graduated. And spent what should have been the best summer of my life with the girl of my dreams. But it wasn't. Because we spent it together as bloody _best friends_.

And then she went back to school, and I became the keeper of **(at?) **Puddlemere.

_Dear Ollie,_

_Hogwarts is no fun without you here. I know you weren't in my classes anyway, that's why I had Leanne. But you always brightened up the common room. Aw, bloody hell, look at me being all poetic._

_So how's Puddlemere? Dream job going good? I'm sure you're amazing. Probably every girl that sees you's after you, eh Ollie?_

_Just don't forget about ol' Katie here, ya hear?_

_Yours Truly,_

_Katie_

Forget her? How could she possibly think I'd ever forget her.

_Dear Katie,_

_Forget you? Never! In fact, I think I kind of annoy me teammates by talking about my best friends. And the team of course, but you're the only person who's in both of those groups._

_I heard that Angelina's the new captain. Good for her! I was so hoping you'd get it, but ah well. You were never after that, were you?_

_Don't try and deny that you're relieved you weren't made captain. I know you too well. You don't want to be in charge, because although everyone else knows you'd do great, you'd be too afraid of making a mess of things. That's alright, though. Now you don't have to worry about anything but scoring, and you'll win whether Potter catches the Snitch or not!_

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

_Dear Oliver,_

_Quidditch has been canceled for the whole year for the stupid Tri-Wizard Tournament! And somehow, Harry's name got put in there! I'm so worried about him. He really is too young. A lot of people don't believe that he didn't want to be in it. But I do. I know Harry just wants to be normal._

_I do hope he wins though. I mean, Cedric's nice enough and all, but Harry's a Gryffindor, and a friend, so he trumps Cedric. In my mind at least._

_Love,Katie_

_Dear Katie,_

_Some days I think I'm just going to collapse after practice. You guys think I worked you hard? Try playing for a professional team!_

_Anyway, I'm a little bored honestly. I'm sort of lonely without you guys. I have a little flat here, and that's where I spend most of my time when I'm not playing. I can't cook for myself, though, so I go out to eat a lot. And yes, you are allowed to make fun of me for that. Not that you ever cared about having permission._

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

_Dear Oliver,_

_There's going to be a ball. The Yule Ball. Guess who the first person to ask me was? Go on, guess._

…

_You'll never guess, let me tell you. Roger Davies. I almost considered giving him a second chance when I noticed that his nose was a little crooked. That reminded me of why it was a _second_ chance, and I (semi)politely declined._

_Anyway, George asked me after that, as friends of course, and Fred's going with Angelina. The twins' friend Lee is taking Alicia, but really were all just going together as friends._

_Oh, I have to go to dinner now. Bye!_

_Love,Katie_

_Dear Katie,_

_I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. I've been so busy with practices. Anyway, I really hope you had fun at the ball, and I heard what happened with Harry and Cedric. It's all over the news. Wow._

_How's Harry taking it? I know school's almost over, and he has to go back to those horrible muggle relatives of his. I hope he's alright._

_On a lighter note, do you want to come to my flat some time this summer? I mean, if your parents are okay with it. They know we're just friends._

I put down the quill. Bloody hell, it almost killed me to write that last part about us just being friends. But not only was it true, but I had to writ it to hopefully appease her parents so she could come over here for a while.

_So, what do you say? Let me know._

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

_Dear Oliver,_

_This is a short letter, because I'll SEE YOU IN A FEW DAYS! So I just wanted to tell you that, but I really must go, so I'll tell you everything else later._

_Love,_

_Katie._


	11. Why Katie can't explain

"Ollie!" a familiar voice calls from the door. I swear I couldn't have gotten to it any faster if I'd been on a broom. I practically launch myself at the door, throwing it open. "Katie!" I yell, throwing my arms around her.

I've really missed that, having her in my arms. It's a great feeling. It's like, she can't get hurt there. I can protect her from the world. In my arms, it doesn't matter if she's my friend or my girlfriend, because she's still in my arms.

And then she pulls away, and the happy feelings leave with her.

But I digress.

"How've you been!?" she cries. "Playing hard? Are you eating properly?" she asks skeptically, looking at my kitchen with narrowed eyes.

"Oi!" I yell as she goes to inspect my fridge. "No commentary until you unpack!" I show her to her room.

"Oliver?" she asks curiously.

"Mmhmm?" I reply.

"Why did you get a two-bedroom flat?"

My face heats up. I had really, really, really been hoping she wouldn't ask that question.

"Well, I-uh, I mean…"

"Spit it out Ollie!"

"I was gonna…I mean, when you graduated…I thought you might need…"

"You were gonna ask me to be your roommate?" she asks happily. I nod sheepishly, and she throws her arms around me.

"Well good," she says. "Because if you didn't ask, I couldn't accept. But two more years! What if you get a girlfriend in that time!?"

I laughed humorlessly. "I don't see that happening," I reply coldly. She looks at me quizzically, but has the sense not to press the subject.

"Well, I'll get unpacked then," she says cheerily, dragging her bag into the room.

*********

It was the greatest summer (well, part of summer, as she was only there for two weeks) I ever had. Katie and I would wake up, and she would make breakfast, criticizing me for not properly feeding myself. Then we would do something out of the flat. we went everywhere there was to go near, and even a couple really far places, with her side-along apparating. After that we would come home and have dinner. Then we'd kill time until we went to bed.

I think that was my favorite part. Just talking to her after dinner. She would tell me about school, and I would talk about the team. She told me the twins' latest shenanigans, and I'd tell her how hard Quidditch practice was.

It amazed me how out of touch I'd been with her. I mean, it was to be expected, as we hadn't seen each other for a year, but I hadn't even realized it until we'd begun to reconnect.

Of course, that just made the whole being in love with her thing ten times harder.

And then it came time for her to leave. She actually cried. I promised to write her constantly, and she promised as well. Then she hugged me and said goodbye, and was gone. I didn't allow myself to be sad until she left. But after she did, it was like a piece of me was missing.

_Dear Oliver,_

_I can't believe summer's over, and I'm back at school. But at the same time, I can't believe that I'm only a sixth year. I know some people dread leaving Hogwarts and going out into the real world, but those are the people who don't know what they want._

_I know what I want Oliver. I want to be a Healer at St. Mungo's. Or maybe play professional Quidditch…but definitely one of the two! And I want to live with my best friend._

_Love,Katie_

_

* * *

_

_Dear Katie,_

_You're moving in with your best friend? I thought you were moving in with me! Not fair!_

_Haha. Anyway, you want to be a Healer? I mean, I always thought that would be a good job for you, but I never really pictured it as something you'd want to do. Quidditch, I get. I always knew you'd want to play Quidditch._

_You know what I think you'd be good at? Being the flying instructor at Hogwarts. You could be the next Madame Hooch!_

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

"Oi! Oliver!" one of my teammates called. "Heard from that girl you're in love with yet?" He smirked, and I groaned.

"I'm trying everything," I complained. "But I can't get her out of my head!"

"Then tell her how you feel, mate!"

"Yeah, go for it!" another teammate agreed.

The only girl on the team, Alana, came up to me. "Listen, if this girl's as great as you say she is, then you have to work fast. I bet she probably likes you, but girls don't like to wait around forever."

"That just it!" I said. "She did like me, but she doesn't now!"

They all gave me sympathetic smiled. Ugh!

_Dear Oliver,_

_Next year is seventh year! Yay! I'm so happy that I'm almost done with Sixth Year! It's BORING! Right there in between O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s._

_Anyway, weird stuff has been happening her. I don't think I understand it, but it scares me. But I try not to dwell on that stuff._

_You won't believe what Fred and George did! Well, you probably will, because they probably already told you. They quit school! Yeah. Just up and left. Makes sense though. This Umbridge woman is TERRIBLE. Really. She makes Snape seem like a nice, kind, caring man._

_I have to go now. I can't explain why in a letter, because I'm honestly afraid she might read it. But I'll see you soo, okay?_

_Love,_

_Katie_

**(AN: Just so you know, in case you're wondering, Katie had to go to a DA meeting, but she didn't want to write it in case Umbridge found out.)**

_Dear Katie,_

_I can't believe all that stuff with Harry. Being the "Chosen One" and all that. Wow. It's strange, don't you think?_

_Anyway, on a lighter note, I can't wait until you come again this summer! It'll be so great! Even better than last year, I promise! Wow. I can't believe it's been a whole year. Now it's only one more year until you can come stay here._

_You still want to do that, right? I hope so, because it would be awkward if I kept referring all casually to it, and you changed your mind._

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

_Dear Oliver,_

_I'm leaving tomorrow, but I have to write this: You idiot boy! Of course I still want to come be your roommate!_

_Love,_

_Katie._

_P.S. see you soon!_


	12. Why Katie now has a locket

As promised, her visit this year was even better than last year. Unfortunately for me, that just made it so much harder to let her do. I don't know if I would have been able to, except for the fact that I knew it'd only be one year until Katie was here with me. Then I take as long as I needed to confessing my feelings, and keep an eye on her at the same time.

Unfortunately, things don't usually go as planned, now do they?

It was about halfway through the year. I had received a few letters from Katie, of course, who was a little lonely without Angelina, Alicia, Fred, and George, because now she had only Leanne.

Then, suddenly, the letters stopped. Completely. I wrote her, but she didn't reply.

_Dear Leanne,_

_Katy won't reply to my letters. Is she angry with me? Did I do something wrong? Please tell me, because it's killing me._

_Sincerely,_

_Oliver_

I waited three days before I got a reply. But the reply itself was a thousand times worse than the wait.

_Dear Oliver,_

_I really I wish I wasn't the one to have to tell you this. I wish this wasn't even true. But Katie's in St. Mungo's. She was under the Imperius Curse, forced to deliver a cursed necklace to Dumbledore, but she touched the necklace and it almost killed her. She's still unconscious. Please go visit her._

_Regretfully yours,_

_Leanne._

I couldn't breathe. Time stopped, and I was slowly suffocating. I think I honestly collapsed on my kitchen floor reading the message.

As soon as I got up, however, I apparated to St. Mungo's. the lady at the front desk told me where her room was. When I got there, however, I couldn't bring myself to open the door. I paced slowly in front of it, until an elderly healer came and politely asked me to go in or stop blocking the door.

I opened it slowly. She looked so peaceful there, but she was all bandaged up. I wanted to throw my arms around her and comfort her, but she looked so frail sitting there that I was afraid to touch her. So instead, I settled for gently holding her hand.

"Katie?" I said softly. "Katie, you have to be okay, alright? You have to be okay so you can movie in with me. You know why I asked you Katie? You'll never guess. It's because I love you. I love you, and I've loved you ever since the day I kissed you. Ironic, isn't it, that that's the day you stopped liking me? I know. I hate irony, myself. Katie, that's why you need to be okay, alright?"

I sat there in silence a few more moment, holding her hand. Suddenly, without warning, her eyes fluttered open.

"Noodles," she said loudly, upon opening her eyes. "Oliver?" she queried, seeing me. (AN: you see, I wanted to stop using the words, asked and said so often, so I made a list of synonyms for them, and queried was on there.)

"I'm here, Katie," I said.

"What happened?" she demanded, sitting up.

"You shouldn't move so much," I told her. "You got cursed, and you-"

"I'll move as much as I want!" she insisted.

"Why did you say noodles when you woke up?" I asked. She looked confused.

"What?"

"When you woke up, you said, 'Noodles.' Then you saw me and said my name."

She looked at me as if I were crazy, and I just shook my head.

*********

A couple days later, she was released to her parents house, but not allowed to go back to school yet. I came over every day.

That was when I realized I couldn't wait even a half a year longer. I had to tell her. Because in half a year she could fall in love with someone else.

But how to do it?

How to tell Katie, my best friend, my more or less little sister, my Star Chaser-

My Star Chaser.

That was it!

*********

A couple days later, after some serious spell practicing (I had to get it perfect after all), I was ready. I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. Her mother looked skeptical about walking outside at night, but Katie begged and pleaded, and Mrs. Bell gave in.

I held her hand as we walked. To her it wasn't anything special, but I was on top of the world. Finally, I decided it was time to make my move.

We sat down in the grass, and I managed to sit just so that if she turned her head, she wouldn't see me pull my wand out. A moment later, a shooting star shot across the sky, and Katie and I shared a knowing grin before she took off after it.

She followed it, realizing it was coming closer to the ground. She watched in amazement as it flew straight towards her and landed right at her feet.

After a moment it stopped glowing, and she picked up the small, star-shaped locket with the words _I Love You _on it.

"Like it?" I asked nonchalantly as she stared at it in awe. She looked at me in pure and utter shock. Then, before I knew what was happening, she threw herself at me, her arms around my neck, and her lips on mine.

And if I do say so myself, I think I changed her mind about kissing me.

"So you love me back?" I asked cautiously.

"I've always loved you Oliver!" she cried.

"B-but, that time you-and you said-What!?"

She looked at me, her expression clearly saying 'are you freaking insane!?'

"Oliver, you idiot!" she yelled. "I only said that because I didn't want things to be weird. I could tell you never fully believed I'd gotten over you. Then when I kissed you, I knew that'd make things weird, so I said the first thing I thought of!"

"You mean I could have been snogging you this entire time!?" I shouted, annoyed. She just laughed.

"You can now," she said suggestively.

And so I did.

*********

**Yayzies! They're all happy and stuff! Anyway, one more chapter, probably fluffy. And thanks muchly to Pepper Lane and Gurugirl ****for their AMAZING and faithful reviews (HINT, HINT!)**


	13. Why life doesnt get any better than this

"YOU DIRT, FILTHY, CHAUVENISTIC GIT! YOU AWFUL, IRRITATING-!" Katie went on and on.

That's what I woke up to. Yep. Not even kidding.

"Katie, is something wrong?" I asked, rolling over so that I was facing her.

"Sure as hell something's wrong!" she yelled. "You freaking get me NINE MONTHS PREGNANT, and then you just _lie there_, and _sleep_, while I'm craving some chocolate cake, which I'm too freaking _fat_ to get out of bed and get!" There were now tears streaming from her eyes.

I sighed, used to this. Katie had very bad, very hormonal mood swings while she was pregnant. I just really hoped it's be over soon.

"I'll get you some chocolate cake, sweetheart," I said, getting out of bed.

"Um, that won't actually be necessary," she said, sounding sheepish, like a little girl who's just eaten the last cookie in the cookie jar.

"Why not?" I asked, confused. Hadn't she just said she wanted chocolate cake, but couldn't get up and get it?

"Well, because I, um, my water just broke," she said, and I instantly freaked out.

"We have to get the hospital!" I declared. She rolled her eyes. "Really?" she asked sarcastically. "I didn't know!"

I grabbed her arm and apparated to St. Mungo's, half dragging her to the Maternity Ward.

"You think they have chocolate cake here?" she asked offhandedly.

"You're having a baby!" I cried.

"Yes, and the baby wants some chocolate cake before he's born," she said simply.

As it turns out, it takes a while before she's even ready to go into labor, so she had plenty of time to eat her damn chocolate cake.

Then, two freaking house later, there we were, she was screaming and threatening to do some very, er, uncomfortable things to me if I didn't stop freaking out, and the Healer was telling her to push, and suddenly all our yelling was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying, and there was my little baby.

Excuse me._ Our_ little baby.

"It's a girl," the healer announced happily, and Katie promptly burst into tears.

"We have the most beautiful baby!" she wailed. "She's gorgeous! She's just the most precious thing ever!"

"Shh, yes, she's lovely," I agreed, trying to calm Katie down before the healer cleaned the baby and placer her in Katie's arms. "She's perfect."

Katie sniffed and calmed down just as her baby was being placed in her arms.

"Allyson," she said, out of nowhere.

"What?" I asked.

"It hit me, just as I was holding the baby. That's what I want to name her."

"I thought we were going to name a girl Missy?" I said, confused. Katie bit her lip as if trying to hold back tears. "But I love Allyson more!" I said quickly, wrapping my arms around the two most amazing girls in the world.

I tell you, life cannot possible get better than this.

*********

**Like it? Hate it? Love it? Reviews make my day! Pleasepleasepelasepelasepelase review!!!!**

**So, there's the story. Finished. I wrote that whole thing in one day. I can't believe it myself. Wow. Yayz for me!**


	14. Message To My Readers

**A MESSAGE TO MY READERS**

VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Honey, I'm home! Yes, I'm at it again. For a while I had decided that I was going to focus on more productive writing, but you know what? Fanfiction is fun, and I miss it! So here I am, writing again.

I am, however, writing under a new pen name. My new account is Princess Corkey, and below you will find a list of stories that will be on that as well as a link.

* * *

New Profile: .net/u/3790840/Princess_Corkey

**Lost In Another Time**: This story was so much fun to write, and I reread it often for inspiration, but I recently realized how much I've grown as a writer since then, and it makes me wish I could rewrite it, and I realized, why don't I? So here it is, the remastering of Lost, now called **Her Name Was Alexandra**. Three chapters are already up. Not much different yet, but I am hoping to add to it. I want to explore the Lily/James relationship in it a little further, as well as add a few more supporting characters and straighten out the timeline. Suggestions? Love 'em! Link: .net/s/8151596/1/Her_Name_Was_Alexandra

**My Other Half: **MOH will be remastered much the same as Lost, under the name **The Other Half**. I would like Allyson to have a few personality changes, making her less unpredictable so to convey that she is more vulnerably than I initially showed. Also, I would like this story to be a little longer and completely change the last chapter for I look back and feel it is a terrible ending.

**Kiss Me In The Rain, Fallen Angel, Look Into The Future, Delusions of Grandeur, **: Existing chapters will remain mostly the same, possible minor tweaking, but the story will be reposted and continued on the new account.

**Tension, Uncomfortable, A Forgotten Story**: Will be tweaked slightly for typos, but otherwise will remain the same and simply reposted on the new account.

**Never Alone, Meet The Family, All's Fair in Love and Friendship, Katie Bell: Socially Inept: **Existing chapters will be rewritten and then story will be continued on the new account. **(All's fair will be shortened to simply that. I don't like longer titles for most stories.)**

**My Star Chaser (To become simply Star Chaser), Not My Night, and Cinderella Masquerade, Lily Potter: Daughter, Sister, and Disappointment (To become Lily Potter: Disappointment)**: Possibly rewritten, but lower on the priority list. Saving for a rainy day or once all above projects are completed.


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